Horticulture
Practice Aptitude Quiz
Practice Aptitude Quiz
Part 1: About this quiz
Use this quiz to prepare for an Apprenticeship in Horticulture
This quiz:
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Is NOT a formal assessment tool or pre-requisite for any job application
Shows key learning standards for the Horticulture industry
Has been developed with the help of industry leaders, TAFE and high schools
Quiz details
This quiz will:
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Take approximately 60 to 90 minutes to complete
Ask you numeracy and literacy questions specific to the Horticulture industry
Assess your literacy and numeracy at a Year 11 standard
Allow you to use a calculator
Share correct answers at the end
Who should take this quiz?
You should complete this quiz if you:
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Are thinking about starting an Apprenticeship in Horticulture
Want to practise for a formal aptitude test
Need help with your literacy and numeracy skills?
If you want to improve your literacy and numeracy skills, reach out to any of the below:
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Australian Apprenticeship Support Network providers
Your Registered Training Organisation when you start training
Reading Writing Hotline:
1300 655 506
www.readingwritinghotline.edu.au
Careers advisers and your teachers (if you’re in high school)
More information about the Horticulture industry
Visit www.yourcareer.gov.au/industries/A/agriculture-forestry-fishing
On this page you’ll be able to:
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See the most popular Horticulture occupations
Get general information and statistics about the industry
Search for Horticulture courses
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Practice Aptitude Quiz
How to use this quiz
This is an interactive form that can be filled out on your computer.
You can either:
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•
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Fill it out on your computer; OR
Print it out; OR
Write your answers down on paper as you go.
Use the answers section at the end of the quiz to see how you went.
How to complete this quiz on your computer
1. Download and save the quiz onto your computer
2. Open the file from your computer
3. Fill in the form using a keyboard and mouse
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Practice Aptitude Quiz
Part 2: The Quiz
Section 1: Language and Literacy
1. The following text has 10 spelling errors in it. Identify the errors and list them with
the correct spelling in the order you find them in the text:
Horticulture is a great career choice if you like to work outdours and there are many different
industry sectors that offer varied types of jobs and carear paths. Some of the main sektors to
choose from within horticuture consist of turf maintenance (sporting ovals), parks and
gardens maintainance (public open space), landscaping (building gardans), nursery (growing
plants), arboriculture (trees) and conservation and land managment (bush landscapes).
There are many carreer pathways and oportunities available to prospective employes willing
to apply themselves.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
2. Write the correct spelling for the following words:
a. Wateering
b. Chemcials
c. Hazasrrd
d. Certifikate
e. Sprinklar
f.
Equiepamnt
g. Vocationl
h. Gardan
i.
Careera
j.
Partisipate
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Practice Aptitude Quiz
3. Select the 8 incorrectly spelt words from the group below:
Shovel
Spade
Wheelbarrow
Irrigation
Trench
Decidious
Evergreen
Flower
Leaflett
Disease
Chemocals
Knapsack
Vallve
Nursery
Sunblok
Secuteurs
Fertiliser
Fungi
Nutrition
Prunning
Excavate
Chainsaw
Virrus
Groundcover
4. Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:
The Horticulture Industry is an industry which seeks to design, develop and maintain a
variety of different living landscapes to suit the desired focus.
A horticultural project begins with an idea and ends with the completion of the final living
landscape.
From the start to end there are a number of stages and each stage has its own series of
steps. In order for each stage of the project to be completed successfully, effective
communication is vital.
Communication can only be considered successful when the receiver of the information
understands exactly what the sender of the information intended.
Feedback from the receiver of the information to the sender of the information can determine
if the communication was successful.
Workplace communication is how we convey or share information in the workplace. People
use a wide variety of ways to communicate with each other. Sometimes these are used
alone or combined together to make a message or information clearer.
Methods of communication include verbal, written, electronic and non-verbal. When
communicating you must be accurate, clear, concise, comprehensive and logical
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Practice Aptitude Quiz
Questions:
a. What is the main purpose of the Horticultural Industry?
b. What is the most important skill that is used in the Horticultural Industry to ensure
a project is completed successfully?
c. Explain how you would know if someone had understood an instruction you gave
them:
d. List three different methods used to exchange information:
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Practice Aptitude Quiz
Section 2: Numeracy
Calculators may be used.
1. You have been asked to lay instant turf for a client’s front lawn. The area measures
6 metres x 9 metres. How many square metres (m2) of turf will you need to cover the
area?
2. A garden design for a client’s garden has been drafted. The plan has been drawn to
a scale of 1:100. The plan requires you to plant five trees along a fence at 3 metres
(3,000 millimetres) apart. How many millimetres would 3 metres be at 1:100 scale?
3. There is a need to spray some herbicide on a very weedy garden bed using a
backpack pump and spray hose. The garden bed measures 10 x 9 metres. The
chemical you are using is to be diluted in water at a rate of 10mls per litre of water
with an application rate of 1 litre per 10 m2.
a. How many litres of diluted chemical solution would be required to
cover the area?
b. How much concentrated chemical is required to make up this amount
of solution?
4. A garden bed has been excavated and requires new soil to be added. The bed
measurements are 4 metres long x 3 metres wide x 0.3 metres deep. Using the
formaula area = length x width x depth, calculate the volume of soil required to
refill the bed:
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Practice Aptitude Quiz
5. Ramos has been asked to calculate how many pavers will be required for a new
pathway that is to be paved. The new pathway is 15 metres long and 1.5 metres
wide. The number of pavers required for 1 m2 is approximately calculated at 38
pavers, which includes an allowance for a few damaged pavers. How many pavers
does Ramos require for the job?
6. Chris has been asked to plant out a garden bed that is 5 metres x 3 metres, using a
native groundcover Myoporum parvifolium or Creeping boobialla. This prostrate
plant typically grows to 0.1 m high x 1.5 m wide and will be planted out in mass for
a quick carpet like effect. Planting density will be three plants per m2. How many
plants will Chris need to complete the job?
7. Nang is installing a new trellis system for growing grape vines and needs to
determine how much trellis wire to purchase. The vine rows are 25 m long. Each
row has 3 lines and there are 45 rows. How much length of wire will Nang require?
8. When pruning a tree support lines are often used to control the fall of large limbs. If
support line rope costs $8.00 a metre, how many complete metres of rope could be
bought for $250.00?
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Practice Aptitude Quiz
9. Match the numbers to their descriptions, write your answers in the table below:
3/8
35°
25%
5:4
16.37
2⅓
a. percentage
b. decimal number
c. fraction
d. mixed number
e. ratio
f.
angle
10. Solve the following equations:
a. 2 + 6 x 7
b. 4 - 11 ÷ 2
c. 50 + 26
d. 2 x 57
e. (12 - 4) x 3
f.
(35 ÷ 5) ÷ (14 ÷ 4)
g. 9²
h. √25
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Practice Aptitude Quiz
11. Solve the following subtraction, addition, multiplication and division questions:
a. Subtract:
i.
1,784 from 5,218
ii.
29.461 from 43.18
b. Find the total of:
i.
$2.00, $21.45 and $8.23
ii.
18.32, 471.019 and 315
iii.
2.63 m and 50 cm
c. Multiply:
i.
6.87 by 10
ii.
13.8 by 3
iii.
46.2 by 8.5
d. Divide:
i.
3.45 by 10
ii.
3024 by 14
iii.
56.2 by 0.2
12. Michael purchased a whipper-snipper for $250 which he later sold for $375.
a. How much profit did he make?
b. What was the profit as a percentage of the cost price?
13. Tom is a landscaper who buys the following items from a hardware store:
plants $450, post hole shovel $55, tie wire $5, and a bag of fertiliser $14.
Tom gets 10% trade discount.
a. How much would Tom pay without discount?
b. How much will he pay with the discount?
c. How much has Tom saved?
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Practice Aptitude Quiz
14. Tina scored 80% in her horticulture exam. There were 25 questions.
a. How many questions did Tina get right?
b. How many questions did Tina get wrong?
15. Select the best estimate for each of the following:
a. 4249 x 71
280000
150000
2800
b. 80000 ÷ 38
200
2000
20000
16. How much money would be required if you need to purchase the following items:
chainsaw $650, wheelbarrow $120, plants $680 and fertiliser $250?
17. Todd is a landscaper and earns $28 an hour for a normal 40-hour week. For any
overtime, which is hours worked over the standard 40-hour week, he receives a pay
rate of ‘time-and-a-half’ or one and a half times the normal pay rate.
What is Todd’s total pay if he works 42 hours this week?
18. Calculating water flow rates is important when installing irrigation systems within
gardens and open landscape areas. If a 9-litre bucket is full in 18 seconds what is
the flow rate per minute?
The formula to determine flow rate is:
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𝑽𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒃𝒖𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕
× 𝟔𝟎
𝑻𝒊𝒎𝒆
Practice Aptitude Quiz
19. Estimate the size of the following angles by selecting the appropriate answers from
the list below:
a.
30
110
170
30
110
190
b.
20. Find the value of x° in the following:
a.
b.
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Practice Aptitude Quiz
21. Find the perimeter of these shapes:
a.
b.
22. If each square represents 1 square metre, what is the area of the shape shown?
23. A bricklayer estimates there are 55 bricks to the square metre. How many bricks are
needed to create a 6 square metre garden retaining wall?
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Practice Aptitude Quiz
24. Calculate the area of this circle? Use the formula A = π r², where π = 3.14:
25. A concrete footing, in the shape of a cylinder has a radius of 400 mm and a height
of 600 mm. What is the volume of the footing in metres? Use the formula V = π r² h,
where π = 3.14.
26. What is the area of these shapes?
a.
2m
4m
b.
8m
10m
27. A circular flowerbed with a radius of 3 metres is to be surrounded by a concrete
path 1 metre wide. Use the formula A = π r², where π = 3.14.
a. Calculate the area of the path:
b. A quote to supply and lay the concrete for this path is $10 per square metre.
What is the cost of the path?
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Practice Aptitude Quiz
28. If each cube represents 1 cubic metre, what is the total volume of the shape shown?
29. Calculate the volume of the cylinder using the formula V = π r² x height:
Use π = 3.14.
30. If the volume of this box is 24 cubic metres, how high are the sides?
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Practice Aptitude Quiz
Section 3: General knowledge
1. Plant botanical names are recorded using the Latin language and are written using
italics. Plant common names are written in English and begin with a capital letter.
Which of the following is NOT a common name? Select the correct answer.
Seaside daisy
Eucalyptus camaldulensis
River red gum
2. Most plants produce flowers, leaves, stems, and roots. They all carry out different
functions for the plant. Which of the following is NOT a leaf function? Select
the correct answer.
Release oxygen into the air
Anchor the plant to the ground
Manufacture sugar
3. Which of the following is NOT a function of a plant’s root system? Select the
correct response.
Uptake of water and nutrients from the soil
Production of seed
Anchor the plant to the soil
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Practice Aptitude Quiz
4. Plants require nutrition to allow them to grow, flower and produce seeds. Which one
of the following in NOT considered a nutritional substance? Select the
correct response.
Iron
Nitrogen
Phosphorus
Wetting agents
Potassium
Calcium
5. A tree type is determined by either of two main growth groups: evergreen (has
leaves in all seasons) and deciduous (lose their foliage during the winter or dry
season). You have been asked to recommend a species of tree that is to be planted
in a client’s back yard outside the kitchen window. The client has requested that
the tree provide shade in the summer and allow light to come through in winter.
Which would you choose; an evergreen tree or a deciduous tree?
6. Plants are used in many industries and can be found in many everyday use
products. Plants also act as air purifiers and help to reduce carbon levels within
the atmosphere. From the list below, select the benefit which plants do NOT
provide us:
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Practice Aptitude Quiz
7. Many plants produce fruits that contain seeds inside the flesh. Which of the
following fruit has its seeds on the outside? Select the correct response.
Orange
Apple
Strawberry
Tomato
8. An automated irrigation system has been installed in a garden that you are
maintaining. The irrigation controller is functioning correctly, however the timing
schedule for when the irrigation will turn on needs to be adjusted. Considering
issues such as water wastage through sun evaporation during the heat of the day
and how plants respond better to deep watering around their root zones when the
sun is shining, when would you program the system to turn on? Select the
correct response.
Turn on several times in short bursts during the middle of the day
Turn on once during the morning for a longer period
Turn on several times in short bursts at night
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Practice Aptitude Quiz
9. Soil structure and soil composition are very important elements for the successful
growing of plants. Most plants grow well in free draining soil. Which step would
most improve the drainage in an area that was waterlogged and had water pooling
on the soil surface? Select the correct response.
Core or spike the area to aid in drainage of the topsoil profile
Integrate some clay into the soil
Integrate a fertilizer into the soil
Increase the irrigation water flow within the irrigation controller
10. Implementing sustainable environmental practices is a vital component of
horticultural activities. Are the following statements true or false? Select the
correct response.
a. Australian tropical plants that thrive on lots of water and lots of nutrients would be the
best plants to plant in a hot and dry area.
True
False
b. Australian native plants that thrive with minimal summer watering and low nutrients
are the best plants to plant in a hot and dry area.
True
False
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Practice Aptitude Quiz
11. Soils in Australia are said to be typically nutrient poor, requiring fertiliser to be
added. Typically, soils are tested for their structure, texture, pH (concentration of
Hydrogen ions in the soil) and infiltration rates (the ability of water to drain
through a soil profile). Different soils have a variety of these characteristics.
Select the one characteristic of soil that is NOT important to infiltration rates:
Wettability of the soil
Drainage
Salinity
Compaction rates
Uneven soil surface
Soil flammability/ignition
Swelling/Shrinking
Water quality
Moisture content
12. Pest & Diseases
If a plant is suspected of having a pest or a disease then management steps need to
be taken to control these elements, otherwise the plant will suffer and could
potentially die. Some of the available options we have to control these elements
consist of removing the infected part of the plant, spraying chemicals to kill the
disease and feeding the plant with fertilisers. Match the appropriate action for the
plant related issues below:
a. Apply a liquid
fertiliser to the
leaves
b. Remove the
branch using a
pruning saw
c. Apply a chemical
root insecticide to
soil
Issue
d. Apply a systemic
insecticide to
leaves
Chosen action
i. Broken branch due to storm damage
ii. Caterpillars feeding on new leaf growth
iii. Insect grubs feeding on plant roots
iv. Plant leaves gone yellow and weak
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Practice Aptitude Quiz
13. Plant health is very important as plant diseases can be spread very easily. If you
work in multiple gardens and move from location to location, what would be the
most effective way you could prevent the spread of disease between plants and
other gardens? Select the correct response.
Use blunt and dirty tools all the time
Wear long sleeves to protect your skin
Clean and sterilize your tools in between every job
14. Insects can cause widespread damage to plants by eating crops and orchard
leaves. Some insects cause damage via chewing and eating the plant leaves and
roots, others by piercing and sucking sugars from the plant leaves and young
stems. Which two of the following adult insects have chewing and eating
mouthparts? Select the correct answer/s.
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Practice Aptitude Quiz
15. Nutrients are essential for plant growth, what part of a plant is responsible for
extracting nutrients from the soil? Select the correct answer.
Stems
Flowers
Roots
Bark
16. Zoe is employed at the Smithton Golf Course. She has been asked to mow the
practice fairway using a ride-on mower.
What items of PPE could she use to protect herself? Select all appropriate
equipment:
a. Gloves
e. PVC
apron
b. Steel capped
boots
c. Safety
glasses
f. Wide brimmed
hat
d. Ear muffs/
ear plugs
g. Half face
respirator mask
17. Joe and Sally started weeding a large garden bed in a public park when they
noticed a break in an irrigation line that had eroded a large hole in the ground
beside a footpath. The large hole had the potential to cause an injury to someone
should they step into it.
Select which course of action they should take:
Have Joe stand by the whole for the rest of the day, warning passers by of
the danger
Just keep weeding and attend to the irrigation break at a
later time.
Inform work colleagues immediately, and organise for someone to fence
off the area (barricade), until it can be fixed,
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Practice Aptitude Quiz
18. Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) consists of items of clothing or equipment, which are
used to help protect your body from hazards in the workplace that cannot be controlled by
other means.
In the Horticulture industry major hazards include: using chemicals in spray and solid form;
managing heavy loads; working outdoors with exposure to heat and rain; and using power
tools and machinery such as lawn mowers and tractors.
Match the PPE items below to the workplace protection issues they address in the table on
following page.
Ear protection/ear muffs
Steel cap boots
Safety harness
Protective eye wear
Full body spray suit
PVC apron
Gloves
Respirator mask
Issue
PPE
a. &KHPLFDOVpray drift over your body
b. Foreign objects in your eye
c. Crushing toes and feet
d. Chemical splashes
e. Falling from heights
f.
Handling small sharp objects
g. Noisy machines and tools
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Practice Aptitude Quiz
19. Pruning tools need to be kept sharp and clean, free of any plant sap or debris. This
is necessary to ensure that only the necessary required force is used to cut plant
materials and also to restrict plant diseases being transferred from plant to plant.
To maintain pruning tools, you can use a wire brush with warm soapy water to
soften and remove sap and sharpening stones or wheels to create a new working
edge that is sharp.
When sharpening pruning tools, which personal protection items should be used?
Gloves
Closed toe shoes
Safety glasses
Ear muffs
All of the above
20. 2-stroke fuel mixture has 2-stroke oil added to the petrol fuel to provide lubrication
to the engine. Other engines have oil lubrication found in a reservoir at the base
of the engine and is not mixed with the fuel.
Tracey works at the local golf course. She has two different push mowers
available for her use. Both mowers require refuelling.
Mower (A) has an oil cap, oil dipstick and oil sump; whereas Mower (B) does not.
One of the mowers requires 2-stroke fuel and the other unleaded fuel only.
Which mower should Tracey fill with the 2-stroke fuel mixture? Mower (A) or (B)?
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Practice Aptitude Quiz
21. The following tools are used in the Horticulture Industry. Match the tool names to
the pictures of the tools:
Name of Tool
Write in the letter associated with the correct picture
Long handled square mouth shovel
Fork
Outdoor Broom
Leaf Rake
Pruning Saw
Secateurs
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Practice Aptitude Quiz
ANSWERS
Section 1: Language and Literacy
1. outdoors, career, sectors, horticulture, maintenance, gardens, management, career, opportunities,
employees.
2. Watering, Chemicals, Hazard, Certificate, Sprinkler, Equipment, Vocational, Garden, Career,
Participate
3. Decidious, Leaflett, Chemocals, Vallve, Sunblok, Secuteurs, Prunning, Virrus
4.
a. The main purpose of the horticultural industry is to design, develop and maintain a variety of different
living landscapes to suit the desired focus.
b. Communication is the most important tool or skill to use to ensure a project is completed
successfully.
c. You can tell if someone has understood the instruction you gave them from the feedback the
receiver gives you.
d. Verbal: speaking to each other, Written: sending a request, Electronic: sending an email; nonverbal: gestures.
Section 2: Numeracy
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
54 m2 of turf
30 mm or 3 cm
a. 9 litres of mixed solution
3.6 m3 of soil
855 pavers
45 plants required
3,375 m of wire required
b. 90 mls of concentrated chemical
8. 31 m of rope
9. a. 25%
b. 16.37
c. 3/8
d. 2⅓
e. 5:4
f. 35°
10. a. 44
b. -1.5
c. 76
d. 114
e. 24
f. 2
11. a. i. 3,434
ii. 13.719
b. i. $31.68
ii. 804.339
iii. 3.13 m
c. i. 68.7
ii. 41.4
iii. 392.7
d. i. 0.345
ii. 216
iii. 281
12. a. $125
b. 50%
13. a. $524.00
b. $471.60
14. a. 20
b. 5
15. a. 280000
b. 2000
c. $52.40
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g. 81
h. 5
Practice Aptitude Quiz
16. $1700.00
17. $1,204.00
18. 30 litres per minute
19. a. 30°
b. 110°
20. a. 44°
b. 150°
21. a. 36,000 mm
b. 40,000 mm
22. 14 m2
23. 330 bricks
24. 314 m2
25. 0.30 m3
26. a. 8 m2
b. 40 m2
27. a. 21.98 m2
b. $219.80
28. 6 m³
29. 628 m³
30. 3 m
Section 3: General Knowledge
1. Eucalyptus camaldulensis
2. Anchor the plant to the ground
3. Production of seed
4. Wetting agents
5. Deciduous tree as it loses its leaves in winter and allows light to come through the
window.
6. Plastics
7. Strawberry
8. Turn on once in the morning for a longer period
9. Core or spike the area to aid in drainage of the top profile
10. a. False
b. True
11. Soil flammability/ignition
12.
i. b. Remove the branch using a pruning saw
ii. d. Apply a systemic insecticide to the leaves
iii. c. Apply a chemical root insecticide to the soil
iv. a. Apply a liquid fertilizer to the leaves
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Practice Aptitude Quiz
13. Clean and sterilize your tools in between every job
14. Locust and Aphid
15. Roots
16. a, b, c, d & f
17. Inform work colleagues immediately, and organise for someone to fence off area.
18.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
Issues
Spray drift over the body
Foreign objects in your eye
Crushing toes and feet
Chemical splashes
Falling from heights
Handling small sharp objects
Noisy machines and tools
PPE
Full body spray suit, protective eye wear and respirator mask
Protective eye wear
Steel cap boots
PVC apron, gloves and protective eye wear
Safety harness
Gloves
Ear protection/ear muffs
19. All of the above
20. Mower (B)
21. E, D, A, B, C, F
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